Basic Brain Anatomy 101
by Carmen Delta
Summary: Whilst in battle, our favourite superhero couple Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon get hit by a monster's attack. Now the rest of the Scouts are left wondering what's up with Serena and Darien, and why they're acting so...strange.
1. Mishap

Another crazy fanfic about our favourite OTP (One True Pairing). Leave a review if you likeys; leave a review if you hateys. Leave a review if you intend to have a say in how the story works ;)

**Disclaimer**: Kaitlyn Fall, beta of the year - every year known to man - has kindly edited this fic (and on a side note, is now one year older than she was when she edited Time Warped! Hooray for birthdays!), and Naoko owns all the rights to Sailor Moon. Damn her.

* * *

Sailor Moon dodged another razor sharp x-ray that was thrown her way as Sailor Mars beside her burnt up the one aimed at her. Grunting as her knee joints jarred, Sailor Moon dove for the dirt as her moment of hesitation had left her open to a fire of syringes.

"Mercury?!" she called over her shoulder as her friend hastily scanned the Negamonster they were facing. It was a tough one; they were increasingly so. But this one seemed particularly nasty. The body looked human enough – a tall, unattractive woman with flaming red hair pulled into a tight bun. Dressed in a long white coat over her professional blouse and pencil skirt, she had looked like an innocent bystander. It was only when the attack of syringes, x-rays, scissors and clamps had started that the Scouts realised that this was the monster.

"I am Dr. Mishap!" it informed them smugly in a booming voice, for what had to have been the thirtieth time. This constant reminder was beginning to annoy the Scouts more than the monster herself.

"I'm trying! I'm trying!" cried Mercury in despair. "But it won't hold still!"

Sailor Moon sent her tiara at it again, watching as it was easily knocked away by the other-worldly woman's clipboard. Backing towards Sailor Mercury, Sailor Moon kept her eyes on the Negamonster, lest it attack her while her back was turned. But it was too busy fighting off the fire and lightning sent its way to bother with her.

"Sailor Moon! It's the ste-" Sailor Moon turned wide eyed as something rushed past her face, to see Sailor Mercury gagged by a huge...bandaid? Was this lady _serious_? Glancing back at the busy monster, Sailor Moon ran to her friend, closing the distance between them.

"Mercury!" she said, alarmed when she saw the bandaid wrapped firmly around her whole lower face. It covered her mouth, but she could still breathe through her nose. Sailor Moon raised her hands to remove it, but Sailor Mercury jumped back, shaking her head quickly and yelling muffled, incoherent things.

Sailor Moon stared at her in confusion. Sailor Mercury raised her hands and motioned around her shoulders and behind her neck.

The confused look didn't leave Sailor Moon's face. Sailor Mercury groaned and pointed to the attacker, tapping her computer and tracing around her shoulders again.

Realisation dawned on the blonde Scout. "The stethoscope?" she asked. "Is that what I have to aim for?"

When her friend nodded eagerly again, she looked around for cover. Pointing to a nearby tree that was surrounded by thick, leafy bushes, Sailor Moon told her to hide there until everything was clear. Sailor Mercury didn't need telling twice, and she ran off and settled behind a bush, which concealed her from the fight, but also allowed her to still watch.

Sailor Moon spun on her heel and ran back to the battle, where the woman had Sailor Mars in a similar predicament to Mercury. Pointing towards the direction she just came, she yelled for Sailor Mars to get cover with Mercury until the fight was over. Sailor Mars gave her a glare that clearly said '_Are you kidding?'_ but Sailor Moon firmly repeated for her to hide.

When it was just her, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus left, Sailor Moon formulated a plan.

"Jupiter! Go in from that side," she yelled, pointing in one direction "and try to get her winded!" Looking at Sailor Venus, she directed, "Venus, once Jupiter's distracted her; I want you to bind her around the middle. Make sure you trap the arms, all right?" When her two Scouts nodded in understanding, Sailor Moon gave the order, and Sailor Jupiter dove at the enemy from its left, head-butting it into a daze whilst Sailor Venus whipped out her Love Me Chain and sent it wrapping around the surprised doctor. It crashed to the ground spraying dust and dirt everywhere.

Sailor Moon raised her hand to her tiara, but the dirt billowing everywhere denied her any chance of using it– unless she wanted to take the chance of slicing one of her friends' arms off. While the others started coughing, Sailor Moon looked through the dust cloud in time to see the furious doctor break the chain by planting syringes in the links, weakening it with corrosive poisons.

"No!" Sailor Moon cried as she dove forward. But it was too late. The enemy broke free and sprang up. Sailor Moon was thrown back by its clipboard once again, which proved to be made of something obviously harder than plastic, like she'd previously thought. Just before she hit the ground however, Sailor Moon felt like she were flying again, but was pleasantly surprised to find herself wrapped up in familiarly strong, warm arms.

Tuxedo Mask landed several paces away and stood up, holding Sailor Moon up steady in front of him.

"Again" he murmured into her ear, his warm breath teasing her hair. Nodding, she reluctantly stepped away from him to repeat the orders to her Scouts. But this time, she pulled her tiara off and waited until Sailor Jupiter dove.

As the enchanted links trapped the monster in place again, this time standing, Sailor Moon ran right up to the youma, flinging her tiara directly at its throat. The monster saw the oncoming attack, however, and threw a series of syringes at the ground before Sailor Moon as she ran.

With one final attempt, Dr. Mishap aimed one straight for Sailor Moon's head, but before it could hit its mark, the tiara connected with her stethoscope, and the syringe exploded as its owner was moondusted.

Tuxedo Mask grabbed Sailor Moon from behind just as there was a blinding white and green light and both were thrown backwards, colliding heavily with a tree.

Sailor Moon stared unblinkingly ahead of her, feeling as though her brain was turning to mush. She gripped her head tightly as her eyes begged to see again. It was almost like the sensation of a brain freeze, when she ate ice cream too quickly. Only it wasn't supposed to hurt this much, was it? And where was everything? She didn't think to call out for help though; it was if her brain had suddenly short circuited.

As the stars cleared before her eyes, Sailor Moon heard a groan behind her. Stumbling forward to her knees, she turned to see Tuxedo Mask slumped against the tree, hat completely knocked off and mask askew. Reaching forward quickly to correct his mask before his identity could be discovered, his eyes opened slowly and he smiled at the sight before him.

"Oh my god! You're okay!" cried Sailor Venus as she ran towards them. The moment was broken and Sailor Moon allowed herself to be helped to her feet before turning to the tuxedo-clad hero and offering her hand.

He took it, and she pulled him up with ease, both turning to Sailor Venus who was still rambling away about the green syringe and how it had exploded right before them and that they should've been injured somehow, but they weren't... Sailor Moon decided not to mention that she couldn't even remember it that much. Besides, she had a growing headache to worry about.

"We're okay," Sailor Moon said loudly over her friend, who stopped talking. "We're okay." A horrible screech resounded nearby and the birds that'd just landed in the trees once again flew out in panic. The trio rushed around a few trees to see Sailor Mars clutching her flaming red face and glaring murderously at a smug Sailor Jupiter, who held a large, limp bandaid in her hand.

"You could have KILLED me!" Mars screamed.

"Bah, don't be ridiculous, look I saved you some money. Now you don't have to get a wax for another few weeks!" Sailor Jupiter said, grinning as she pointed to her upper lip. Sailor Mars roared in fury, her bright red aura flaring up around her. Sailor Jupiter just laughed and kept her friend at bay by holding a long arm out, with her hand on her Sailor Mars' head as the Scout of Fire tried to physically damage her.

Sailor Moon peeked at Tuxedo Mask beside her to see how he was taking this particular spectacle but she found him staring at the place the Negamonster had last been. Following the path of his eyes, Sailor Moon spotted a pile of ..._lollipops_ where the scorch marks began.

"Is she for real?" Sailor Moon asked in a strained voice, sufficiently gaining everyone else's attention. Sailor Mercury whipped out her computer and scanned the pile for any traces of negative energy and they all waited with baited breaths. After an agonising twenty five seconds, she nodded slowly.

"It's SAFE?" Mars asked, bewildered. Nodding again, Sailor Mercury put her computer away. Sailor Moon and Venus squealed in glee and began running to the spot, fighting over who got what flavours whilst Sailors Mars and Jupiter continued to argue.

Tuxedo Mask suddenly felt chills run up and down his spine and he called out to them.

"Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus. Get over here!" Puzzled by his request but frightened by his urgent tone, they complied, each bringing back an armful of sugary goodness. Just as Sailor Moon dove for Tuxedo Mask's cape, the rest of the Scouts watched as cherry blossoms began swirling around midair halfway between them and where they had last seen Dr. Mishap, until Zoisite had appeared. Her annoying high pitched laugh cut the Scout argument short and Jupiter let go of Mars' head, letting her faceplant into the ground.

"Hahahahahahaha, up in friendly fire, are we?" Zoisite said in her famously annoying, nasally voice. "I see you defeated our servant Dr. Mishap here." She nodded to the ground, where all that remained was a charred clipboard and an empty syringe.

"Not to worry, though, I'm sure she's left a _lasting impression,_ ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

An irritated rose was thrown at her, narrowly missing her face, and she scowled before disappearing in a swirl of cherry blossoms.

Everyone looked at each other.

"What," Sailor Moon voiced after quite some time, "was she talking about?"

"I don't know" said Sailor Jupiter, cleaning out an ear with a gloved pinky, "but that laugh sure _bites_!"

Sailor Moon's eyes widened as she remembered her gagged friend.

"Sailor Mercury!"

All eyes zoomed in as the blue-clad Scout stood up silently from behind the bushes. Sailor Jupiter smacked her hand to her forehead, and Sailor Venus tried to copy, but somehow managed to end up poking herself in the eye instead.

Moving slowly towards the group, Sailor Mercury eyed her team warily as if deciding who to ask for help from.

Sailor Moon stepped up cautiously to her friend and raised her hands slowly, to show her she was going to be the one to do it. Visibly shrinking in fear, the other Scouts crowded in on her until they blocked her whole line of vision. Each was suggesting the best method to Sailor Moon who was feeling for the edges of the large bandaid.

"Just rip it off really quickly, like a bandaid!" Sailor Venus said eagerly.

"It _is_ a bandaid, you retard!" Sailor Mars retorted.

"That's why you rip it off quickly!" Sailor Jupiter replied, rolling her eyes.

Sailor Mercury eyed them nervously as Sailor Moon gripped the edge on one side and began to slowly peel it across her face. Her hands flew to her face to hold her skin down as tight as she could while her eyes filled with tears. Soon it was a quarter done, then halfway, then three-quarters done, then –

"AHHHHHHHH!" Sailor Venus screamed, latching herself onto Sailor Jupiter and kicking her leg spastically. The sudden interruption scared Sailor Moon, and she visibly jumped in her boots, accidentally ripping the rest of the bandaid off and earning a pained cry from her friend.

Sailor Moon spun just in time to see Sailor Jupiter lean down and flick a lizard off Sailor Venus' calve. Sighing, she turned back to Sailor Mercury and muttered an apologetic sorry. The blue-haired Scout simply nodded, feeling her tingling face and testing out the sensitive skin by probing it lightly with her fingertips.

"Right, well. If this is it for the night...?" a male voice trailed off.

The Scouts all turned to him in shock and his expression turned from uncertainty to alarm.

"What?" he asked as the girls continued to stare at him. He was answered in multitude.

"Why are you still here?"

"Aren't you usually gone by now?"

"You're a magician aren't you? Pulling that disappearing act and everything!"

"Sailor Venus, he jumps into trees and runs off. You've _seen_ him do that."

"Well there's a trick to every trick!" huffed Sailor Venus as she folded her arms.

Tuxedo Mask backed away as the Scouts continued bickering, feeling a headache coming on. Just as he reached the trunk of a thick tree, he heard a musical voice beside him.

"Thanks for sticking around this time."

But when he looked, Sailor Moon was already walking back towards her friends, but not before throwing him one last bright smile.

* * *

By the time Serena got in through her bedroom window, it was almost midnight. Unhooking her broach from her school uniform and placing it on her bedside table, she threw her clothes on the floor and slipped into her pyjamas – not even bothering to correct them when she realised she'd put them on backwards.

Kneeling down by her bedside table again, she opened the bottom draw and took out what she needed before stumbling towards the bathroom. As she took two headache tablets and washed it down with water from the tap, Serena felt a wave of dizziness, but it passed quickly and she thought nothing of it. Stumbling back to bed, Serena crawled under the covers and promptly fell asleep.


	2. Out of Character

**AN:** If I could only give you advice, just once, for you to take, it would be this. GO LISTEN TO THE BAND ALL CAPS! Their music is amazing! Just youtube search 'ALL CAPS' and then maybe add 'World of Warcraft Ruined my Life' or 'I Love Brains' or 'Can't', since once you get to one song, you can just click on related links. Luke Conard, Kristina Horner; you guys are amazing. I take my imaginary hat off to you. Oh, yes, the story! Moving onwards! XD

* * *

Serena awoke unusually early the next day, and it being a Saturday, was free to do whatever she pleased. However, this particular Saturday failed to spark the usual excitement it was supposed to. Instead, Serena got up and went to her closet, rifling through her clothes until she found something she'd like to wear. Emerging from the bathroom twenty minutes later; freshly showered and changed, Serena headed down the stairs for breakfast.

She was glad that for once she was up before her family, and ate her cereal in silence before grabbing her wallet and walking out the door. Finally being on time for a scout meeting, she made her way to the arcade through the park, though she took the less scenic route.

By the time Serena had arrived at the arcade, the early morning sun had risen higher in the sky, and she was sweating. The doors chimed their greeting as she walked in to the arcade, and she immediately noticed the air conditioner wasn't on. Which had to be a first, she thought in annoyance. Spotting an empty stool next to a familiar black-haired man, Serena headed over and sat down next to Darien.

"What are you wearing?" she muttered to him as she picked up a napkin from the dispenser.

"I could say the same to you" he shot back without looking up from his .... milkshake?

"Andrew, can I have an iced coffee?" Serena drawled loudly, now toying with a bunch of napkins.

If Andrew replied, she didn't hear it. A hand had snatched her wrist and was pulling it away from the napkins.

"Let me GO you jerk!" she seethed, turning to glare at him.

But her glare melted the minute their eyes met.

"Darien?" she breathed in amazement as she continued to stare into his eyes.

"Serena," he smiled back, snaking his hold from her wrist to her hand and clutching it tightly.

"You're beautiful..." she exclaimed quietly as she clasped his one hand with both her own.

Chuckling, Darien corrected her. "No, you're beautiful. How could I have never noticed before?"

Shaking her head, Serena sighed, "I feel so....complete with you here."

If this was a bizarre thing to say, Darien didn't show it. "Me too" he said with a silly grin. They could hear Andrew coming back from the kitchen, so, still holding onto each other, the two stood, and Darien led her over to the infamous corner booth of the arcade. When they were comfortable in their seats, they leaned forward until both hands were grasping the others. Serena found herself lost in Darien's gaze, and from the looks of it, he was lost in hers.

And this was how Andrew found them as he returned to the counter with Serena's iced coffee, looking around in confusion for his two missing patrons. Grinning, he grabbed at the straws container and snagged two before walking over to the corner booth where the couple sat. Placing the glass in between Darien and Serena, he popped the two straws in before leaning on the table with one hand.

"So what's with the outfits today guys?" he asked conversationally. Indeed it seemed strange that Serena had opted for a navy and black ensemble, whilst Darien sported fluoro jeans and a tie dyed shirt. It was _completely_ out of character for both of them.

Both teenagers in question shrugged without looking up and Andrew, feeling a little miffed, returned back his counter. Just as he picked up his cleaning rag, the automatic doors chimed as a loud group of giggling girls entered and made a beeline for Andrew.

"Hey Drew!" gushed Mina as she ran up and draped herself across the counter; sufficiently catching his attention mid-wipe.

"Uh..."

"Good morning Andrew" Amy said politely as she blushed at her friend's antics.

"Five milkshakes?" Lita asked as she leaned on the counter with one elbow to survey the room. She spotted Darien in the back booth holding hands with a girl blocked from view, so nudging Raye beside her, Lita nodded in Darien's direction and smirked as Raye gasped.

"Looks like Serena will have some competition when it comes to Darien's attention," Lita pointed out unnecessarily.

Andrew leaned over the counter, past Mina – who remained gazing up at him in adoration - to whisper "that _is_ Serena with Darien."

Raye and Lita shared a brief look before breaking into laughter and doubling over. Amy's blush reddened as her remaining friends lowered themselves to Mina's embarrassing level. Shaking her head sadly at the ground, she grabbed a nearby crumpled napkin and began twisting it in her hands – least it look like she was _with_ these crazy lunatics!

They watched on as Darien said something, undoubtedly funny and a loud giggle issued from his partner; a loud and_ familiar_ giggle. Andrew and the girls, including Amy, watched on as Darien's lip quirked up and he leaned forward, closing his eyes. It was only then that a familiar blonde head with pigtails leaned in view and in the typical slow motion of a horror (or comedy) film, they kissed.

Chaos erupted from the opposite side of the room.

Raye was screaming at the top of her lungs as Lita seemed to be choking on her own saliva; Amy had missed the stool when she'd gone to sit down in shock and ended up on the floor where she remained as Mina banged her head repeatedly on the counter, laughing hysterically and Andrew... Andrew had disappeared. It was only when Mina had cried dramatically "Drewwwwwwwww!" that she noticed him on the floor behind the counter.

He'd fainted.

But none of this deterred the newly-smitten couple in the booth. They continued to kiss until they ran out of air, and regrettably had to pull away. Serena giggled and reached out to brush a stray lock of Darien's hair out of his eyes, oblivious to her friends behind her as Darien in turn lifted a hand and caressed Serena's cheek lovingly with the back of it.

Replenished with a full lung-set of air, they leaned in for another long kiss before Serena was suddenly yanked out of the booth by her frantic friends. Serena whimpered at the separation and reached out for Darien as he stood up and tried to grab her hand back, but fate (AKA her friends) would not have it that way. Serena was dragged literally kicking and screaming from the arcade as her friends loudly berated her for what they'd just witnessed. It was only several minutes later when they were safely secluded in the park that Serena stopped kicking and screaming and lay limp in her captive's hands, allowing herself to be dragged like a lank doll the rest of the way.

Lita dropped Serena unceremoniously on the grass and spun on her as the rest of the group fanned out to create a small circle around their trapped friend. But Serena would not look at them. Instead she cried into the grass about how unfair life was, and how she needed to get back to her One and Only or she would die. Her bewildered friends cast assorted glances between each other; Raye wide-eyed at Lita, Lita accusingly at Amy, Amy's panic directed at Mina, and Mina poking her tongue out to a bird on the branch beside her. Lita's eyes silently urged Amy, '_do something genius!_' and Amy's eyes widened in return as if to say, _'like what?!'_ But nevertheless, the blue haired genius stooped to the ground and reached for the sobbing blonde.

"Serena? Are you all right?" She paused as she heard a snort above her but continued again, "What was going on in the arcade? Why were you, um, kissing Darien? Serena?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!" her friend sobbed in despair.

"You what?" a chorus echoed.

"I LOVE HIM!" she screamed into the grass. Lita knelt beside her and placed her hand on her shoulder. Looking up startled into Lita's concerned green eyes, something in Serena jolted and she flinched out of her friend's hand.

"Ahh!" she cried as she scrambled backwards hastily like a crab. Lita, confused, stood up and followed Serena as she continued to shuffle back on her hands and feet.

"What are you doing, Serena?" she asked, feeling severely wounded.

When Serena was cornered into an oak tree, one final step towards her sent her shaking.

"Please don't hurt me!" she said, flinging her arms up protectively in front of her face. Lita paused and glanced back at their perplexed friends.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said quietly to Serena, who remained trembling at the base of the tree. She lifted her hands in an innocent gesture and Serena wailed and huddled even closer in on herself. Lita quickly retreated to the circle and gently nudged Raye forward. Raye fought back but one quick, well-placed elbow to the ribs sent her stumbling forward. She stepped towards the terrified blonde and asked hesitantly, "Serena?"

The shaking stopped and a blue eye peeked through arms. Quickening her pace, Raye knelt before Serena just as Serena lowered her arms. "Raye!" she exclaimed in a shaky voice as she threw her arms around the priestess. Everyone stilled as they saw the affectionate gesture between the two sparring partners and Raye's eyes widened behind the blonde's back.

But behind _Raye's_ back, Serena's eyes locked in on a nervous Mina. Squinting in suspicion, Serena pulled out of Raye's 'embrace' and said loudly

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey what's up with Carbon Copy over there?"

When everyone looked around to see who Serena was talking about, Serena got to her feet and stalked up to Mina. Placing her hands on her hips, she began circling her friend, examining her intently like an animal would to its prey. Stopping just before Mina's startled face, she leaned in and whispered scathingly,

"Don't think I don't know what your game is, _pretty_. I know what you're up to. You can't fool me!" When Serena drew away, Mina let out a breath - which Serena mistook for admittance of defeat. Still staring at Mina through narrowed eyes, she called loudly to her friends over her shoulder,

"Hasn't anyone ever wondered why Mina and I look so similar? It's _obvious_ she's from the Negaverse!" When no one disputed or concurred, she continued loudly, "Yes, I'm surprised I've only just noticed it now. I mean, how do we know she's not some Beryl ploy trying to turn you against me, and then take my place as leader? Ha! As if Venus could ever be fit to lead!" When Mina's blue eyes began to fill with tears, Serena added, "and it's not like she pulls blonde off, anyway."

Mina looked down in shame, tears flooding her eyes and Serena nodded in smug satisfaction at having caught the 'criminal' in the 'act'.

"Just hold on a minute!"

"Serena!? What's _wrong_ with you?"

Ignoring Lita and Raye's outbursts, Serena picked up on the tiny voice of Amy as she muttered about Earth and Venus being sister planets, and that's why Mina and herself looked so similar. Rounding on her friend, her eyes locked in with Amy's blinking gaze and narrowed.

"Oh shut up," she snarled. Everyone gasped, so she added, "know-it-all nerd."

"That's _enough_ Serena!!" Lita bellowed, causing Serena to drop to her knees and huddle in terror again. Her friends exchanged a variety of looks between one another, missing Serena as she scurried away in the grass.

* * *

_I think my favourite part about this chapter was the mental image I had of Darien in fluro jeans and tie dye. Tell me yours!_

_xo_

_C_


	3. Nag the Nerd

Serena flew through the front door, up the stairs and into her room when she got home ten minutes later. For once taking use of the lock on her bedroom door, Serena barricaded herself in her room and leant backwards on the wood, panting in near hysterics.

"Serena? Are you all right?" came Luna's alarmed voice from beside her. Glancing down through teary eyes at the blurred shape of her companion, Serena shook her head. She felt Luna start to nuzzle her ankle with her head, but as soon as they came into contact, a shock shot straight up through Serena's body. Jolting in fright, Serena ran with high knees to her bed before jumping on it and placing every stuffed animal she had on the edge as a wall of defence.

"What are you doing?" Luna asked, bewildered, as she easily jumped over the barrier and onto the bed. Serena squeaked and picked up a stuffed rabbit, throwing it in Luna's face and sending her toppling off the bed again. When she heard the satisfying thud of the body on the floor, Serena barked, "And stay there!"

Luna shook her head until the stars disappeared and looked up in confusion.

"What's going on? Serena?"

"Luna! Don't SCARE me like that!"

"Scare you?" bristled Luna. "How did I scare you?"

"You just did!"

"Serena, that doesn't make any sense!"

"No, YOU don't make any sense!"

Luna's miniature brow furrowed as she tried to comprehend what her ward was saying. Opening her mouth to say something, Serena beat her to it.

"You know, what's with you Luna?"

"W- "

"You're always NAGGING me! Nag, nag, nag. You're like...The Nag Queen! Queen of the nags! Why do you always have to NAG!? Huh? Is that your name? Miss Nag-A-Lot? HUH?!"

Luna was speechless. The blonde wasn't making _any_ sense. Backing up in the direction of the window, Luna jumped lightly to the sill and turned to look back at the girl on the bed.

"I can see you're not feeling well Serena, I think I'll spend the night at Amy's."

"Go on!" yelled Serena as her eye began to twitch. "Go NAG the nerd! That's right!" When Luna leapt out of sight, Serena raised her voice and continued to yell, "Because you're best friends, right!?"

Amy was sitting quietly at her desk, studying for the upcoming maths exam several weeks away when Luna leapt in lightly from the window.

"Luna!" Amy gasped in surprise. The cat made what she imagined to be a smile and greeted her back warmly.

"Hello Amy."

"Serena kick you out?" Amy guessed. Luna raised her cat eyebrows at the accuracy.

"Well, sort of. Yes, yes you could say that...Why do you ask?"

Amy lowered her head and Luna had to lean in to hear, "She wasn't in the best of moods today."

"Mmm yes, I could tell... Did anything, uh, happen earlier? That might have set her off?"

"No! It was so weird! One moment we were in the arcade and she was kissing Darien, and the next she was freaking out in the park!" Amy lowered her eyes again as she murmured sadly, "And she called me a nerd." As if realising that she was indeed studying, after she'd been called a nerd by her best friend, she slammed the textbook shut and threw the pencil down.

Luna lowered herself on the desk as she processed what she'd heard.

"Serena...called you....a nerd?" she asked for confirmation, not quite believing it. "To your face?" Serena loved that Amy was so smart; she often helped her with her homework. Amy nodded and shuffled awkwardly in her spot.

"What happened? Tell me everything." Amy sighed and explained everything that had gone on that day, including the arcade and the park scenes in detail. Trailing off at the end of her speech, she picked up her pencil and began to uncharacteristically doodle on her notebook as Luna watched her.

"I don't know what's going on," Luna said, her brain working furiously to catch up with the events she'd missed out on, "but you can bet we're going to find out!"

"_We_?" Amy asked with wide eyes. "Ohhh no! Leave me _out of it_ Luna. I think Serena is just having a bad day or something. Let her go."

"But –"

"Let. Her. Go." Amy repeated firmly, pursing her lips and reaching for a highlighter.

"Alright," Luna sighed. "Well in that case, I think I might stay with you until her mood has passed over. Perhaps she's just a little stressed."

Amy said nothing, instead, uncapping her highlighter and returning to her work.

* * *

Sunday morning passed much the same as Saturday did. Serena got up quickly and mechanically, dug through her wardrobe for something dark to wear – even though the day's temperature had been forecasted at mid 30's – and trudged out the house. The closer she got to the arcade, the faster her pace picked up. As she stepped through the arcade doors, her eyes roved the establishment for the only face she wanted to see.

A head of thick, raven hair called her attention to the corner booth and she hurried over, sliding herself into the squishy seat beside the man.

"Darien!" she sighed happily, leaning her head on his shoulder and fluttering her eyelashes at him. He chuckled and reached his arm around her, bringing her closer.

"Serena..."

The pair, caught up in each other's eyes, were oblivious to the stares of the four girls two booths away.

"I still don't understand! What's going on with those two?"

"Since when were they even on civil-talking level, let alone snuggling level?!"

"All right, who's freaking out here?"

"Guys," Lita cleared her throat. "Forget all that! What I want to know is.... Serena's up on a Sunday before 9?"

Amy shook her head. "Luna says that Serena was acting very bizarre last night. We all saw how she was yesterday. Luna believes she is just stressed, and is being extra-emotional. But I don't think so. There's no way that Serena would be lashing out at us, let alone without a decent reason."

Raye swivelled her head from the couple, who were now kissing behind the menu, to look at Amy. "So what do you suppose we do about it?" Her eyes flashed the briefest hint of worry, before she concealed it, grumbling, "Imagine a Nega-monster going up against a homicidal Moon. It'd be all over the press!"

The three rolled their eyes at her almost-slip up. Raye had almost shown her affections for the blonde, something she always vehemently denied she had. A squeal was heard and they turned to see Serena eyeing a large hot fudge sundae. When Darien picked up one of the two spoons, and they heard a distant, "Open wide, Meatball Head," the four quickly looked away. Who wanted to watch _that_?

"I'm not buying it." Lita shook her head. "Serena can't even STAND Darien, and somehow they're now spoon-feeding each other? Something is beyond just _up_."

"What do you think, Mina?" Raye turned to the quiet blonde, who was staring thoughtfully at the table – and thoughtful, Mina did not look often. Mina's pale blue eyes flicked up to her friends.

"Weeeeell," she began slowly. "I was just thinking..."

She ignored the scoff of Raye beside her.

"Serena only started acting strange yesterday, right?" They all nodded, ignoring the giggles erupting from their friend, two booths down. "Well. I was just wondering... It wouldn't have anything to do with the fight on Friday night, would it?"

"But that doesn't explain anything." Lita jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Serena isn't the only one not herself. Take a look at Darien's clothes. Take a look at what he's doing. Take a look at who he's doing it WITH! This isn't just about Serena now."

"But guys," Mina began.

"Maybe there's something in the water?" Raye narrowed her eyes at her green tea.

"Guys?"

Amy shook her head. "That would give them mild indigestion if anything, not a complete persona change."

"Wait, guys," Mina tried again.

"Well what else could it be? Clearly those two are the only ones infected by whatever we're missing here."

"GUYS!" Mina squawked, arms flapping to gain everyone's attention. Unfortunately, it gained everyone in the _room's_ attention. "Um..."

Even Serena and Darien had come up for air and were peeking over the top of their booth to stare at her. Serena narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

She lowered her head and began whispering her idea. "But that's just it, guys. Just like Lita said. It's not just Serena, but Darien too. What if Darien is Tuxedo Mask?"

Raye and Lita exploded into laughter; even Amy gave a small giggle, before hiding it behind her hand.

"What makes you think that?" Lita bellowed, wiping tears from her eyes as she continued to cackle.

Mina glared at her friends, crossing her arms. "Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?" she hissed. Their laughter died away.

"But Mina," Amy began. "The chances of Darien Shields being Tuxedo Mask are, quite simply, one in a million."

"Just like his chances of suddenly being his exact opposite at the same time as Serena?"

Amy opened her mouth, and then closed it. Raye nodded and patted the blonde on her head. "Well, that argument sounds plausible enough, but I still don't think Darien is the tuxedoed hero we all love. He isn't exactly Prince Charming when Serena's around, who acts exactly the same way as Sailor Moon."

Mina huffed and threw herself into the back of the seat. "You know what? You asked what I thought, and I told you. It was _just _a theory after all."

Lita held up a finger, silencing her. She turned to Amy. "But wasn't there an explosion? At the end of the fight?"

Amy shook her head slowly. "I was behind the bushes, remember? I had a bandaid on my face." Her hand unconsciously crept towards her chin.

Raye tilted her head. "And I was with Amy after that _thing_ got me."

Mina clicked her fingers, lurching forward in her seat once more. "That's it!" she cried, grinning happily at Lita. "The syringe! Remember? The monster threw it at Sailor Moon, but was moon dusted before it could hit her, so it exploded midair!"

"And Tuxedo Mask was right behind her..." Lita murmured, nodding. A long silence settled over the table as the Scouts realised what this meant. Darien _was_ Tuxedo Mask!

"So this is an after-effect of a Nega battle?" Raye asked after some time, even as Amy began shaking her head.

"It's not an after-effect, per se, but more of a side effect. An attack is supposed to wear off once the monster is destroyed."

"So what does that mean?" Mina asked with wide eyes. "Serena is stuck in Moody Land with Darien forever?"

"I don't know," Amy sighed, reaching for her straw and stirring her iced tea. When Amy fidgeted, it was a sure sign that the conversation had reached its capacity. Lita sank her chin in her hand, staring dejectedly at her friend and leader, who was back to making out with her apparent enemy.

"So what do we do now?" she sighed. "Wait and see if it wears off, or…?"

Amy shrugged. "For now, we just keep an eye on both of them. We should probably keep track of their actions, so we can figure out a pattern if possible. But aside from that, there isn't much we can do until we figure out what's wrong with them."

"Great," Raye grumbled, taking a long sip of her tea. "Who wants to follow the love birds around all day?"

_

* * *

_

And yes, when I said mid 30's, I was saying that in degrees, not farenheits :D Hope everyone here has a great weekend! Well, I'm off to netball xD

x C


	4. Notes

**AN: **Hey guys, just thought I'd give you a quick update on the writing front. Nightmare in Dreamland (a genre and style I have never before tried!) is in outline mode, where I'm establishing the plot and subplots and the general arc of the story, and my NaNoWriMo work from '09, Protecting Serenity, is being edited for the first time since then. Hoping to have it done and out to you guys by _this_ NaNo. At this rate though, I might be splitting it in half to become two separate stories. But we'll see. Are you excited? You're excited. I can tell.

Also, the song I am currently obsessed with (small quality and length of preview aside): Live Like There's no Tomorrow by Selena Gomez. I'm so excited!

Many, many, _many_ thanks go to my wonderful BFF (best beta forever!), Kaitlyn Fall, for.... well, betaing this story! ;P

* * *

Luna jumped on Amy's bed, stepping over the girl's legs to read what she was writing in a thin, blue notebook.

"What's this, Amy?" she asked as her eyes skimmed the page. Amy capped her pen and tucked it into the spine of the notebook as she closed it.

"Today at the arcade, the Sailor Scouts and I had a discussion about the behaviour of Serena, and noticed Darien was acting strange too. It is our hypothesis that Darien is Tuxedo Mask, who was hit by the same attack on Friday night as Sailor Moon."

"What attack?" Luna's hackles rose. "I wasn't informed Sailor Moon got hurt."

"But that's just it, Luna! We never realised! Sailor Moon threw her tiara at the monster at the same time it threw something at her. When the monster was destroyed, we thought its attack had stopped too, but it exploded right in front of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. We didn't realise until this morning that it may have something to do with Serena."

Luna blinked. "Did you say Darien is Tuxedo Mask?"

"We believe so," Amy said with compressed lips. "But we will have no way of knowing until the next fight, when I can scan his vitals with the Mercury computer and compare them to Darien's sample."

"We don't know if Tuxedo Mask is a friend or foe," Luna said.

Amy nodded. "Perhaps if we can figure out his identity, we might be partial to what his agenda is. Why is he after the rainbow crystals? What does he plan to do once he's got them all? Is he somehow linked to the Moon Princess?"

Luna walked to the bottom of the bed and curled up, missing the comfortable fluffiness that Serena's bed usually brought.

"So you plan on watching Serena and Darien until then?"

"We're not sure whether the effects will wear off on their own or not, so we're trying to figure out a pattern."

"Have you any ideas yet?"

Amy shook her head and reached for the lamp switch. "Not yet, but I suppose it is still early days. I just hope this doesn't go on for too long. This new Serena is..." She struggled for the right word.

"Inform me when you have solid data," Luna's voice rang out in the dark.

"Goodnight, Luna."

"Goodnight, Amy."

* * *

_Monday morning_

Serena woke up early, showered, dressed in her school uniform, had breakfast, brushed her teeth and walked leisurely out the door. Her family could only stare after her, wondering if an alien had taken over their beloved Serena.

The slow walk was uneventful. Serena glared at the happily singing birds, the bright blue sky, the passing businessmen as they hurried to work, basically anything she saw. She'd never realised how annoying the sound of the birds was. And the possibility that one could drop its dinner from last night on her at any moment only worsened her thoughts towards them.

By the time she got to school, she had twenty minutes to spare. Pulling out the homework she'd done last night, she began to go over her maths, rechecking all her answers. And this was how Amy found her ten minutes later.

Amy beamed with pride before remembering that this was unusual for Serena. She sat quietly at her desk, pulled out her notebook and jotted the notes down.

"Hey Serena!"

Amy and Serena looked up as Lita waltzed in several minutes later, following a number of their classmates. Amy watched as Serena shrank into her seat.

"Hello, Lita," she greeted, fear underlining her tone. Amy also wrote this down. As Lita folded herself into a nearby desk, she shot Amy a look. _Was that weird or what_? Amy silently passed her the notebook.

Lita's eyes skimmed the two pages. Nodding, she passed the notebook back and ripped out a blank piece of paper from the back of her workbook, hiding it in her textbook. She'd do the same. The bell went and Lita waved them a goodbye as she headed off to her own class, which Serena pretended not to see. She passed Miss Haruna on her way out, as the teacher sashayed in.

The lesson began, and homework was called for.

"And I don't suppose it's worth asking you if you've done your homework, Serena," the teacher sighed as she leaned over the blonde. Serena's hand shot out, holding the papers. Miss Haruna blinked at both the action and the annoyed look on Serena's face. She carefully scooped up the papers.

"Thank you, Serena," she said quietly, heading past the fuming student to collect Molly's.

As the day progressed, it was clear that Amy and Lita weren't the only ones watching Serena. Classmates stared in open surprise as Serena not only answered questions voluntarily, but went up to the board and wrote her answers on it. Students in the hallway began moving out of the blonde's way as she ploughed through the halls, instead of her usual skipping and laughing. It was like Serena was no longer Serena; everything about her was different. Her very aura radiated disapproval and annoyance. By the time the bell rang, signalling the end of the day, the entire school's population had learned to steer clear of the brooding blonde.

She'd already left for the arcade by the time Amy and Lita met at her locker. Lita held up her paper, where every inch of the once pristine-white page was now filled with messy scrawls of notes. "Wanna compare notes?"

* * *

"Muffin!" Serena's grumpiness lifted the moment she spotted the older man. She ran into his awaiting arms and hugged him fiercely. "I missed you!"

He gave her an Eskimo kiss. "Not as much as I missed you, Meatball Head."

"Oooh, I love it when you call me that!"

Andrew leant over the counter, his elbows slipping on the overly-clean surface. "Seriously guys, I thought you were joking on the weekend.... Are you really together?"

The glares shot his way had him snapping upright.

"Of course we're together!" Serena huffed as Darien pulled her away from Andrew.

"And to insult us by insinuating we were joking..." Darien growled.

Andrew waved his hands. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend!"

Darien turned to Serena. "Come on, baby, let's go hang out somewhere else."

The pair marched off indignantly, leaving Andrew scratching his head. "Er..."

Several minutes later, three of his usual customers entered.

"Hey Andrew," said Lita, before scanning the arcade. "Have you seen Serena or Darien today?"

Andrew pointed back out the door. "Yeah, they just left."

Lita, Amy and Raye traded glances. "Did they say where they were going?" Amy asked quickly.

When Andrew shook his head, their shoulders dropped.

"We'll have our usuals then. Thanks Andrew."

The arcade employee set to the task, watching from the corner of his eye as the girls slumped into a booth. Once upon a time, his customers had sat at the counter, happily chattering away about whatever. But now... Now it seemed like every conversation was private, everything was a secret. He'd noticed it first when Serena had stopped bringing her redheaded friend in, and begun hanging out with Amy. Now, the whole group preferred the booths, always whispering or talking in hushed voices. They probably didn't think he'd noticed how they would straighten up and zip their lips as he approached them. But he wouldn't say anything.

It was probably just teenage girl stuff anyway.

But even Darien had distanced himself, moving from his initial spot in the quiet corner to the closest stool to the door; always as if ready to run out. And sometimes he did.

Andrew blinked when the kettle clicked, signalling it had finished boiling. It was sometimes dangerous to ponder life's mysteries in the kitchen.

* * *

"Isn't that just beautiful?" Serena sighed happily, watching as the sun began its decent below the horizon. The sky began to blend into a soft pinky-orange tone.

Darien grinned, watching the smile blossoming on the girl's lips. "I can think of something else that's beautiful right now," he said. Neither commented on the cheesiness of his statement, simply enjoy the other's company.

After having spent the afternoon lazing about in the park, talking and giggling, touching and just watching the world go by, the pair finally felt at peace. It was a stark contrast to the fast life of their alter egos.

Serena chewed her lip as her mind ticked over. She really wanted to tell Darien about Sailor Moon, but she also knew it was her duty to keep him safe as a civilian. If someone found out Darien knew who she was, she would be putting him in a lot of trouble.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to her, the man beside her was thinking the exact same thing. So both kept their mouths shut, simply leaning into the other and enjoying the moment.

* * *

_Tuesday_

Tuesday passed almost identically to Monday. Serena's mood had not lifted, and the Scouts were getting edgy.

"What if a Nega-monster turns up?" Mina worried in the afternoon, chewing on her fingernail. "Who knows what Sailor Moon will be like on the battlefield!"

"Well she can't be any worse than she already is," Raye commented dryly as she tossed a pillow over her shoulder. "It's not like that body can hold any more klutziness."

"Raye..." Lita sighed in a warning tone. She turned to Amy.

"Any ideas yet?"

The girl shook her head, her short blue hair swishing around her face like the ocean tide. She was getting frustrated, because she had the pieces, but she just couldn't join them together. "All my data is insufficient at the moment."

"Well have we tried anything?" Raye asked. "Have you tried tempting her with her favourite things?"

Lita nodded. "I made her chocolate cake today. Didn't eat it."

"I offered to buy her some doughnuts after school," Amy added. "She didn't want them."

"I called her last night and asked her if she wanted to go shopping with me this afternoon," Mina grimaced. "And she told me she had _homework_. Can you believe that?"

Raye scoffed. "A likely excuse."

"No Raye, it's true." Lita nodded with Amy. "She handed it in both today and yesterday! I saw it before class."

Mina stroked her upper lip, as if she had an imaginary moustache. "How straaaange."

"So what are we suppose to do?" Raye cried, throwing her hands up in the air. She hated this feeling of helplessness. It was like watching a car about to crash. Knowing the inevitable, but knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"And what do we know about Darien? Are we any closer to knowing whether he's Tuxedo Mask?"

As Amy opened her mouth, a familiar beeping began. Amy's hand dived for her bag, scooping out the youma-detector and bringing up the digital map.

"We've got trouble, guys."

* * *

"And that's why you want to be a doctor?"

Darien nodded, before realising she couldn't see it from her position. "Yup," he said cheerfully. Serena was lying with her head on Darien's stomach as he toyed with her hair. "Well that's a very noble answer," she grinned up at the blue sky, watching as a lazy cloud drifted by.

"And what about you, Meatball Head? What do you want to be? An ice cream flavour taster?"

Serena laughed and batted his leg. "Then I'd have to taste all the bad experiments, and it'd put me off ice cream for life! No." She fell into a thoughtful silence. "I don't know what I want to do once I'm out of school. They're already pushing us for subject selections now, but I don't feel a particular pull from any of them."

"You don't have even an inkling? What do you like to do in your spare time then? Besides reading manga and haunting the arcade, I mean. Could you turn a hobby into a career?"

Serena made a face at the mention of what she did in her spare time. Usually she loved being Sailor Moon, but even it had its drawbacks. "Oh, I don't know! All my time just seems to disappear! Poof! I don't know where it all goes!"

Serena could feel Darien's deep chuckle beneath her head. She rolled onto her side and leaned on her elbow, face inches away from his. He stopped laughing and gazed seriously into her eyes.

"I'm so glad to have you, Darien," she said sincerely. "I have no idea why I never saw it before."

Darien quirked a grin and reached for her face, tenderly rubbing his thumb along her jaw, tracing her lips, cupping her cheek. "And I'm glad I have you, Serena," he said quietly, eyes roving her face, memorising each detail. "I just wonder why it took us this long to see past the insults and arguments."

Serena closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "Darien..."

But before she could utter another word, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

The Negaverse.

_

* * *

_

Thanks for reading guys; Hit and Visitor counts make me happy that people, somewhere in the world, take enjoyment from what I've written. Please don't forget to review!

_xo_


	5. Miss Anderson

**AN:** Hey guys! Not much from me at the moment. I'm working on my new fic, Nightmare in Dreamland, which is quite dark and angsty and scary and murdery and such, compared to my other works, but that's pretty much all I can say at the moment (it's still in the Outline Stage). Keep reading! xoxo

* * *

Sailor Venus was holding the monster off, but there was too much lion, and not enough chain. "Guys, help!" she called over her shoulder, blowing her bangs away from her sweaty face. "Can't someone do something?"

"Moon's on her way!" she heard Sailor Mars shout in reply. "Let's see if this kitty likes fire!" But even as she blasted her attack, the lion snarled and jumped around in the chain, wriggling free before the others could comprehend what was happening.

"Venus, look out!"

Sailor Moon knocked her comrade out of the way and entered the fray. She looked really _pissed_.

"How dare you steal me away from my free time, you stupid monster! I'm going to send you straight to hell!" Sailor Mercury exchanged a quick, wide-eyed look with Sailor Jupiter. Those were _not_ the customary words for Sailor Moon's speech.

The Scout of the Moon sent her tiara at the beast, but it whizzed past its target when the lion simply bounded out of the way. Sailor Moon screamed in fury.

"Need a hand?" a clipped voice asked loudly. Sailor Moon spun on her heel in the direction it had come from.

"No, thank you very much!" Her hiss was pure acid.

"Really?" Tuxedo Mask jumped down from a tall lamppost. "Coz it kinda looks like you do."

"I do _not_ need your help, Tuxedo Mask! Now back off if you know what's good for you!" But even as the words left her mouth, she found herself being whisked away just in the nick of time. Sailor Moon let out a strangled sound.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked, before she was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. "Oof!"

"Just doing my job, so that you can do yours."

The Scouts had completely forgotten about the Nega-lion now. It was obvious, even before Mercury whipped out her small computer and began readings on the superhero, that this was Darien Shields. Everybody knew that he adored Sailor Moon – just as she idolized him. And watching them jump down each other's throats was just....

"One in a million," Sailor Mercury whispered.

"Sailor Moon, the lion!"

The blonde's head snapped back to the beast at Mars' reminder. "I'm on it!" she shouted in frustration. This time, when she flung her tiara, she willed it to split into two. The lion dodged the first one, but unknowingly stepped backwards into the other. It was sliced in half and the group shielded their eyes as a brilliant burst of white light exploded with the creature.

Sailor Moon dusted her hands. "See? Didn't need your help, _thanks_."

"Yeah," the caped man laughed. "You could have been chewed up for it's lunch if I hadn't been here."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"You did not just say that I'd end up as kitty food!"

"Well that sure as hell wasn't an _understatement_."

"Don't you go using big words in that tone of yours! I know what you're saying!"

"Well if I didn't have to save you every fight..."

"I NEVER asked for your help!"

"You never have to! Because you're always on the brink of being killed when I arrive!"

"I AM NOT!"

"YES, YOU ARE!"

"Guys! Stop!"

Sailor Moon's fingers with beginning to twitch, white flecks of power spitting out the gloved tips, and Tuxedo Mask's hands were gripping his cane a little too tightly now.

"Guys!"

But the pair just continued yelling. By the time it reached obscenities, Sailor Jupiter indicated to Sailor Venus to use her chain. She cracked it loudly, the metallic snap echoing around the abandoned car yard.

Sailor Mars, red faced, huffed over to the pair, slapping them both upside the head. "What the HELL do you two think you're doing? You're public figures, and you were this close to having a brawl! Do you have any idea the ramifications that would cause?"

"People look up to you!" Sailor Mercury stepped forward, angrily. "You cannot be seen arguing like this in the middle of town!"

"You two just need to cool it," Sailor Jupiter snapped, crossing her arms. When Sailor Moon opened her mouth angrily, Sailor Jupiter shouted her down. "No! Listen. Tuxedo Mask. Are you, or are you not Darien Shields?"

Sailor Mercury's eyes popped open at her comrade's blatant disregard for not only his privacy, but for possible people nearby. Tuxedo Mask's reaction was similar to hers. Eyes bulging beneath his mask, they swivelled towards Sailor Moon, who stared back in shock. As his Adam's apple visibly bopped up and down, she took a step towards him.

"Darien?"

Tersely, he nodded. A wide grin spread over Sailor Moon's face. "Dr. Shields?"

His face went eerily blank as he stared at her. She took another step forward. "Poof!" she giggled, waving her hands in the air, much like how she had earlier that afternoon.

"Serena?"

His breath was only slightly more than a whisper, but she nodded too. Tears appeared in her eyes. She didn't have to keep any more secrets from him! He was just like her! A sob of happiness escaped her lips as she wiped away a tear. "You're... Tuxedo Mask?"

Running up to him, she threw her arms around his neck, and he swung her around, just once, before setting her lightly on her feet again. "I'm so happy," she breathed into his chest, grinning up into his eyes. He embraced her closer.

"This is just perfect."

* * *

"Well this is just perfect!" Lita huffed as she emerged from the alleyway nearby with the others. "We're nowhere near discovering what's wrong with them, and now they're going to be all mushy on the battlefield!"

"You're the one who did it," Raye snapped back, rolling her eyes. "None of us said anything."

"Well, what was I supposed to do? Let her kill him with her tiara?"

Mina snorted. "Luna would have loved that."

Amy gasped. "Luna! I'll have to tell Luna! She'll be wanting to know everything about him now. We don't even know if he's on our side." She spoke with sadness.

"Well, if he's not, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now, I just want to get home and have some dinner! I'm starved!"

Lita raised an eyebrow at Mina. "You know, you're an awful lot like Serena when she's not around."

Mina shrugged happily as she veered off in the direction of her home. "Someone's gotta be the clown."

* * *

"Luna, we were right. Darien is Tuxedo Mask."

The dark feline glanced up as the still-transformed Sailor Mercury clambered in through Amy's fourth storey bedroom window. Sailor Mercury waved a gloved hand in the air and powered down, walking over to her bed and picking up a nearby pen. Drawing her notebook from her subspace pocket, she added in her final notes and flipped to the beginning, reviewing the pages.

As Luna waited for further explanation, she watched several expressions dance across the young girl's face. Surprise remained.

"Oh," was all Amy said. Luna's tail twitched.

"What?"

"I think... I think I figured out the pattern," Amy said quietly, eyebrows knitting together. She looked up with curious eyes. "It's quite bizarre, but it all makes perfect sense now!"

Luna's crimson eyes fastened to Amy's communicator. "Call a meeting and then tell me all about it."

* * *

"Okay, so what's so important I had to rush down here in the middle of the night?"

"Mina, it's like, 9pm."

"Yeah? So? Can't a girl get some beauty sleep without the Negaverse always getting in the way?"

Lita sighed and turned her attention to the priestess, whose home was once again being used as a secret Scout meeting place. "Well where's Amy anyway?"

"I'm here," the girl announced, sliding the screen door open and slipping inside. She cleared her throat, pulling out her blue notebook as she settled into her seat. "I have good news, and bad news. The good news is that I've figured out a pattern in Serena and Darien's mood swings. The bad news is that I don't know what's causing it or what we can do about it."

No one moved or made a sound, aside from Raye shuffling closer in eagerly.

"Quite simply, their emotions are reversed. Serena's bubbly personality has been substituted for a brooding and gloomy attitude, as I'm quite sure we've all noticed, correct? And Darien hasn't exactly been known as Mr. Happy himself, has he now?"

Her dark blue eyes turned curiously to Raye. "Your relationship with Serena is quite different to ours with her, one might say. Serena's natural reaction to you is somewhat tense, in a way, and yet, on Saturday, she was acting like she was your best friend."

Her gaze swung to a highly-amused Lita. "And with Lita, Serena has always felt protected by her, and generally feels safer when she's around..." Lita's smile vanished. "Yet, she was afraid of you, fearing you and your physical power. Those two emotions, protected and fear are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, yes?

"And Mina," she turned to the blonde, who was staring wide-eyed at the table. "The fact that Serena was suspicious of you when you two are practically like twins should have given it away immediately. I can't believe it took me this long to realise it. The pattern is reversed. Every emotion is the opposite. Even Luna got verbal whiplash!"

A chuckle slipped past Raye's lips. "Even Luna?"

"Even Luna."

"So do we know _why_ Serena and Darien are acting this way?"

Amy shook her head. "I don't understand how the monster's attack could still be effective, because we destroyed it. The only logical explanation is that maybe it stunned them in some way."

Raye pursed her lips. "Scan her. Scan Serena."

Three multi-coloured pairs of eyes swung to her, blinking in confusion. Raye waved a hand in the air, while her other remained clenched in a tight fist on the table. "Scan Serena with your Mercury computer. Maybe there's something in her system."

"Yeah, like what? Five days of indigestion?_" _Lita said sarcastically, even as she watched Amy's hand twist in the air, disappearing up to her wrist, before reappearing with a small, blue computer. She opened it and powered it on.

"I already have Serena flagged down, in a way," Amy explained as she began typing. "Because of her Scout aura, it's easy for the computer to recognise her – anywhere in the city – and pick up her signal. I can scan her from here."

Even Mina looked impressed, what with all those big words and all. "Wooow, so you have us bookmarked and everything?"

Lita rolled her eyes, but apart from that, no one acknowledged the blonde.

There were a few faint 'beep's made by the computer as Amy finished typing in the commands, then she sat the it on the table and leant back on her seat. "It's performing a full body scan now," she said.

For the next few minutes, no one said a word. No one made eye contact. No one moved. Outside, the wind rustled faintly in the trees, but no one noticed. Instead, four pairs of eyes were glued to the small gadget on the table.

_Beep beep beep! Scan completed._

Amy reached forward with a slow hand, picking up the computer and holding it close to her. Her eyes flew across the screen, before her mouth finally popped open to a small 'o'.

"Well?"

Amy rearranged her expression and schooled it into one of complete calm. "I might have to give this information to you, lesson-style."

* * *

Amy tapped the whiteboard with her marker. "Welcome to Basic Brain Anatomy 101, class." Raye, Lita and Mina all nodded, armed with notebooks. "My name is Miss Anderson, but you may call me Amy."

"Just get on with it," Raye sighed, clicking on her pen.

Amy cleared her throat. "Right. Of course. Okay. So." She tapped the board again. "The brain has several lobes in its structure. The left hemisphere, for example, is what controls the right side of your body. It is the logic and reasoning side of your brain; what mathematicians and scientists rely on. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, controls the left side of your body, and focuses more on coordination, imagination and visual skills. Are you with me?"

Lita's pen was flying across the page. "Lita, you don't have to write all that down, that was just background information. I'm getting there."

"Oh."

"And somewhere in the middle of the brain, under the temporal lobe, is the limbic system. Now, the limbic system is what controls your emotions - fear, happiness, anger, they all stem from this area. Now, we all know that the brain sends out and receives signals, right? So, when you are feeling happy, for example, the amygala, a section in the limbic system that secretes hormones and other chemicals, sends out a signal saying so, and then you are feeling happy."

Mina raised a hand. Lita pulled it down.

"Now in Serena's and quite possibly Darien's case, the Negaverse's monster has somehow been able to scramble these signals. This means that the emotions the pair are displaying are not actually the correct ones. Serena's personality took a hairpin curve, as we've all seen, and even her attitude towards homework has changed."

"Boy did she surprise Ms Haruna," Lita snorted, pausing what she was writing.

"According to my computer, the rest of her brain, and body, are functioning normally, so we don't have to worry about anything else. The only concern we have is her emotional centre. When Serena really means to be happy, she is tricked into thinking she's angry, and so on, and so forth. Does everyone see where I'm going?"

"But what can we do about it? It's not going to change by the sound of it." Raye pursed her lips, already imagining how different the future would be.

Lita nodded, adding,

"Yeah, what can we do for them? There must be something!"

"But isn't there just a reset button?" Mina asked with furrowed brows. "I mean, can't we just restart their limbic systems and go back to default emotions?"

"Mina, it's not that simple! Brain regeneration isn't possible, you can't just 'reset' the brain. It is a complex, and very risky organ, and you cannot go fiddling around with it."

"But why not? That monster did and she's not a vegetable!"

"Yeah, but she's also walking around like a total zombie," Raye snapped. "That's pretty much the same thing with Serena. If she's not herself, she may as well be someone completely different. We've lost her!"

Amy could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. She reached for her temples, massaging them with her fingers whilst her friends continued bickering.

"And that's loser talk, Raye! We haven't lost her yet, we can still do something! At least we know what's wrong with her now!"

"Well what about Darien? What can we do for him? We're not even his friends!"

"Hey, I am!"

"Raye, you two went on like, one date."

"And that's more time spent with him on my own than the rest of you put together!"

"Guys," Amy sighed in agitation. "Please, stop."

Her friends turned to her with pleading eyes. "Amy, tell us what to do!" they begged.

"Like I said, the brain cannot be regenerated. I _don't know_ what to do."

Raye stood up determinedly, raising a fist to the air. "Well I will consult the Great Fire and see if it can tell us how to get our friend back. And when she snaps out of it, she'll be getting it from me! I have better things to do with my already-limited time than worry about some silly Meatball Head."

"And I'll research to see if there have ever been any similar cases to this in medical journals and study them. But without something solid to go on, I'm afraid we don't have a hope."

The girls departed for the night sombre and silent.

* * *

_You have no idea the amount of research I had to do just to understand the brain (this story idea came to me even before In the Docks did, so it's been quite a while) and its basic structures and balances and whatnot. I now do Bio, so everything is a lot clearer, but I sure as chicken wish I'd known all this stuff before!_


	6. Rainbow Bridge

**AN:** Sorry for the delay everyone, I meant to post this on Saturday (it's Monday for me here), but I had a really-packed weekend + wild weather, so... Yeah, that's my excuse. Only two more chapters to go, so don't forget to show your love and appreciation! And - a little warning, Darien and Serena are supposed to sound ridiculous and sappy and cliche` in this chapter. They're in "love", what can I say? (Remember, it's not what they're supposed to be saying anyway)

* * *

"Okay! Okay! Stop!"

Darien, grinning, suddenly yanked on the chains, causing the blonde to squeal in shock.

"Darien!" she whined, breathless as she tried to stop laughing. He too, was laughing as he sat down on the swing beside her.

"Yes?" he asked with a straight face. She uncurled one hand from the chain and smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

"That was too high, buddy! Too high!"

"Aww," the man mocked. "Is widdle Meatball Head afwaid of heights?"

"Shut up," she growled, smacking him again. Their laughter ebbed away and they sat silently, just staring at each other.

Serena was first to break eye contact. Looking down at her dangling legs, she bit her cheek, trying to hold the smile back with her teeth.

"I've never had such a perfect Wednesday," Darien mused beside her, breaking the tranquil silence. "If I could spend every day with you, I would. Every hour of every day."

"I wish I could spend all of my time with you too," Serena confessed to her shoes, a grin tugging on her lips. "I wish I could be with you every waking moment. Every minute of every hour."

"I like knowing that being Tuxedo Mask doesn't make me need to run off from you," Darien suddenly announced after several seconds of silence. "I like knowing where you are during a Negaverse attack. I mean, obviously I don't like you being so close to the danger itself, but just knowing where you are helps. I like that I'm not lying to you about my identity either, I like that you know who I am. I think, if this had happened to us even a week ago, things could have turned out very different. For starters, I'd be having a heart attack, knowing the safety of the world lies solely in your hands."

"Hey," Serena said, laughing.

"And then I might be freaking out over the fact that my worst enemy was also the most powerful woman in the city... And then -" he trailed off, smirking at Serena's expression. When he couldn't hold it in any longer, he burst out laughing – and very loudly at that.

"You're making fun of me!" Serena said in an amazed voice. Then she laughed too. "We work well when we're taking the mickey out of each other."

Once she'd sobered, and their laughter had died down, she reached forward and wrapped his hand in her own. "And I like you knowing who I am. That being a superhero won't take me away from you, or put you in danger, because as we've all seen, you're perfectly capable of protecting yourself." She paused, before deciding to add, "and I'm glad it was you. I mean, Tuxedo Mask could have turned out to be anyone! But he was you all along. And I'm glad."

"You know, Meatball Head, I'm even gladder. It's not every day a guy finds his superhero crush to be his civilian crush. I mean, Tuxedo Mask used to have it pretty bad for Sailor Moon."

"Well, Sailor Moon was pretty crazy about Tuxedo Mask too, don't you worry."

Darien searched Serena's eyes and found nothing but complete honesty. "You know, I don't usually like to talk this much," he confessed. "But suddenly it's not that bad. I don't know why I don't do it more often..."

Serena grinned, shuffling her feet playfully in the sand, kicking it around. "Maybe it's the effect from your company!"

"Maybe," he nodded, grinning too. Suddenly, as a thought occurred to him, he stopped. "I have no idea why we were fighting yesterday though," he frowned. "I was just suddenly very angry with you, and I don't remember the reason."

Serena shrugged. "I was angry at you too. Maybe we ended on a particularly bad note last fight or something, and didn't remember...? Nah, don't worry about it." She waved an unconcerned hand.

Darien rubbed his thumb along her hand, which remained in his own. "So tell me about your day," he said.

"Oh, not much to tell." Serena sighed contently. "We had a maths test, we did some English work, we worked on our history and geography a bit, Ms Haruna went to the office and came back grinning, so we knew she'd scored a date... The usual."

"And how'd you go in your test?" Darien asked, nudging her shoulder. "Need a tutor?"

Serena gave him a blinding smile. "No thanks! Besides, I passed with a 78%, any tutoring from you and I'd get absolutely no work done!"

"And why would that be?" Darien asked, suddenly very close to her face. She blinked and licked her lips.

"Um."

**Beep beep beep beep!**

Serena and Darien both hung their heads, the moment lost as Serena glanced around for any spies – although it was a bit late for that – and twisted her hand in her subspace pocket.

"I have no idea how we hear this thing if it's hidden somewhere in a timefold," she muttered as she produced the small, pink object. Pressing the flashing orange button, she and Darien leaned in to see Sailor Venus' flustered face.

"We've got double trouble," the Scout announced.

* * *

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were puffing as they raced across rooftops, watching as cars sped in the opposite direction on the streets below. They were on their way to Rainbow Bridge, where a Negamonster was causing destruction, whilst the other Scouts were fighting another monster in the industrial area of the city.

Just in the distance, the twinkling lights of the bridge came into view, contrasting against the dusk sky. They powered on.

Having no alternative, the pair jumped down onto a fire escape, swinging their way down until they landed upright on a large garbage dumpster and jumped to the ground of the alleyway. They'd have to run through the congested roads if they planned on getting to the middle of the bridge, where the monster could be seen.

"Come on," Sailor Moon half-growled, half-puffed as she took off once more, Tuxedo Mask right behind her.

They swerved in and out of the cars blocking the road, some were smashed and abandoned, some flipped over completely. The two superheroes skidded to a halt when they got their first real glimpse of the enemy.

Beryl had certainly vamped her monsters up. This one was huge. At almost thirty feet tall, the large maroon octopus sat in the middle of the bridge, picking up cars and examining them before its beady, black eyes, before tossing them lazily over the bridge. Sailor Moon hoped all the civilians had gotten away safely in time.

She thrust a finger towards the creature and began the customary speech. "Hold it right there, Negatrash! How dare you d- eeep!"

Sailor Moon dived out of the way as a large tentacle swung dangerously close towards her. "Hey!" she yelled in anger. "I wasn't finished yet!"

But before she could open her mouth again to finish her psych-out speech, another tentacle walloped forward, narrowly missing her as it slammed into the ground. She saw out of the corner of her eye, as it lifted its tentacle, the imprint that was left in the thick concrete. This thing was _strong_.

Whimpering, she hoped her backup would be arriving soon. She had no chance in hell of defeating it all on her own without the others to distract it. And just thinking about the amount of power alone needed to Moondust the creature was making her dizzy.

"Tuxedo Mask! Can you stun it?" she yelled as she jumped over a car's hood, another tentacle slamming into the bridge road.

"Not for long," she heard his reply. "And this thing is huge, I don't even know if it'll work or not! Here goes..."

She vaulted over a car that was laying on its side and tried to formulate a plan. She could hear the crunching of the cars as they were picked up, one by one, while the monster looked for her. The sound of shattering glass and car alarms going off penetrated her thoughts. Hissing in frustration, she clamped her hands over her ears and slammed her eyes shut, quickly going over scenarios in her head. When her back support suddenly disappeared, her eyes snapped open and she glanced up just in time to see a large, maroon tentacle reach for her. It had found her.

She tried to scramble away, but she wasn't quick enough. The feel of something slick and slimy wrapped around her whole middle body, from waist to torso. The Scout fought back the vomit building in her throat.

"Sailor Moon!" she heard vaguely over the deafening roar of the wind in her ears as she was pulled through the air. Through the narrow slits of her slightly open eyes, she met the curious gaze of the octopus. All remaining breath in her body whooshed out in awe.

She glanced down at Tuxedo Mask, who was laying with a leg trapped beneath a car, and waved happily. He responded by flipping her a rude hand gesture.

"Hey!" she gasped.

She was starting to feel a little light headed now, and black spots were appearing around her eyes. She could feel it now, the pressure around her middle tightening to painful levels. "Ow," she murmured, confused, as she tried to push the tentacle away from her. "Stop that."

"Let's see if this sushi can be fried! Mars fire blast!"

Sailor Moon felt the slimy tentacle release her and suddenly she was soaring through the sky. Soaring, soaring; oh look how the ground rushed up to greet her! What a lovely friend. She smiled at it before a heavy jolting richoted her body.

"Hey!...?"

Sailor Jupiter, grunting, lowered her upright arms, and tilted, dropping Sailor Moon on her feet. "You're welcome," she said, before turning back to the monster. Sailor Moon backed away from her uncertainly. She rushed around her friends to help Sailors Mercury and Venus pry the wrecked vehicle off Tuxedo Mask. As he stood up, he grimaced and unclipped his cape, freeing himself from the trapped material. He massaged his throat with one hand, while blocking the bridge's lights from his eyes with the other.

Sailor Mercury stepped forward, pointing to the octopus that was currently throwing cars at Sailor Jupiter and Mars. "We managed to beat the last monster, simply by combining attacks from opposite ends, but I'm afraid it'll take all six of us to beat this one."

Sailor Moon eyed her with distaste. "If you're sure," she said in a snooty tone, flipping her hair over one shoulder and spinning around. Jumping back into the fray, she leapt out of the way as a motorbike was thrown her way and did a cartwheel to avoid a wayward tentacle. She stopped when she had done half a circle of the octopus and pulled off her tiara.

"I'm in position!" she yelled to Sailor Mars, who was her nearest companion. "Everybody else, get ready!"

Tuxedo Mask followed the path she'd just taken, finding his place several feet away from her. In his hand, he held several roses at the ready.

"1!" she heard Sailor Jupiter bellow from the other side of Sailor Mars. "2! 3!"

As Sailor Moon began her attack, something unexpected happened. The octopus suddenly swung around with surprising speed and knocked the Scouts and Tuxedo Mask to the ground with a single swipe. Its eyes bore down on Sailor Moon, who stood, frozen in awe. It flung a tentacle at her, sending her crashing into the already broken wall of the bridge.

With wide eyes, she clung with her very fingertips to the edges of the crumbling stone, praying she wouldn't fall in the deep water, thrashing about far below. But her prayers went unanswered, and the last thing Sailor Moon saw before the slimy arm of her enemy knocked her over the edge, was Tuxedo Mask laughing, watching her fall.

"Sailor Moon!"

* * *

_Am just working on the final, final detail for my outline of Nightmare in Dreamland. Everything is worked out - minus one giant, gaping plot hole. Once I can figure this out, the entire story will be ready to be written. I hope you're looking forward to it... it's quite different to anything I've written before! :)_


	7. Not a Brain Surgeon

**AN:** Last chapter, folks. Jokes! Second last. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I've been so busy recently I only have time to post this super quick, and I've been neglecting my disclaimers. I don't own Sailor Moon, and you can thank the awesome Kaitlyn Fall (OMG WELCOME BACK TO INTERNET-LAND!) for betaing this. YAAAAAY!

* * *

Something inside Tuxedo Mask snapped. "No!" he cried, his laughter cutting off as he watched in horror the blonde heroine disappear from view. Scrambling to his feet, he flung his barrage of roses at the monster and ran for the broken wall of the bridge, diving right over the edge without a second thought.

The swirling mass of the night sea came to him with frightening speed, but he only had one thought racing through his mind: _I've gotta save her. I've gotta save her! _

He plunged into the icy depths, propelling through the water and going down... down... down... down. He was thankful that his superhuman senses meant he was able to see clearly under the water, the salt only stinging his eyes minutely. He could see her. She was sinking, limply floating deeper and deeper into the ocean.

Terror seized his heart. Her eyes were closed... She wasn't fighting back! With the agility of a professional athlete, he torpedoed after her, closing the gap between them in seconds and pulling her lifeless body into his arms. From there, he began kicking his legs, pushing them harder and faster towards the surface. His whole body had numbed, the icy water making him feel sluggish as his muscles began growing tired. The carbon dioxide building in his lungs told him he was running out of oxygen. He needed air. And the surface seemed to mock him, looming high above them, beckoning them to reach it before they drowned. He was glad he'd ditched the cape – it would only be dragging them down. Closer and closer they came to the land above, he could just see the bright lights of the bridge glimmering in the distance. With the last of his energy – and breath – he kicked until they broke the surface of the choppy sea.

Tuxedo Mask gasped in a large lungful of air, the cold night stinging his face, like thousands of tiny needles prickling at his skin. He pulled Sailor Moon up beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder to keep it above water, his arm holding her upright around her waist. Tossing his matted fringe out of his eyes, he glanced around, looking for the shore.

He was in luck. They were relatively close. Only eighty metres or so away from the border of a park, a small grassy knoll ending at the water's edge. It was closer than he'd expected, but still far. Readjusting his grip on Sailor Moon, the tuxedo clad hero began pulling her alongside him as he struggled against the water, his energy levels already depleted.

He struggled. His legs were protesting any further movement, and the arm he was holding Sailor Moon upright with was aching terribly. He had to stop several times, just to suck in more air, still winded as he was.

But his will got them through, and soon enough, he threw them both onto the grass, gasping for air once more. Turning to his partner, what he saw made his blood run cold.

Her skin was paler than it usually was, and her eyelids looked strange, like they were almost transparent. He could see the tiny veins in them, glowing blue in the moonlight. But perhaps the most concerning, was the fact that her icy blue lips weren't moving. She wasn't breathing.

Tuxedo Mask swore lowly and began CPR. Through his preoccupied state of mind, he barely registered the sound of an explosion nearby as he performed the resuscitation procedure that had been drilled into him from a young age.

After what seemed like an eternity – when really, it could have only been a few minutes – the girl beneath him began responding. Desperate hands pushed against his chest, and he leant back to give her room. Rolling to her side, Sailor Moon wretched a large amount of salty water, her whole body shuddering at the taste. She spluttered and panted for a minute or two before she sank back down to the ground, her arms having given way. With a gloved hand, she wiped across her mouth and opened her eyes. As the crystal blue orbs focused on him, and his terror subsided, he felt a strange feeling overcome him. A sudden clicking in place, as if something very essential had been realised.

It took her a few tries to speak, as her mouth quivered in what looked like horror. "T-Tuxedo Mask?" Sailor Moon whispered, slowly sitting up.

"You need to sit back down," he said, gently pushing her back to the ground by her shoulder, which she fought. "You could have -"

But something in her expression had the words die on his lips. He was faintly aware of the sound of footsteps somewhere nearby.

"I..." Sailor Moon licked her lips, which were slowly gaining their colour again, and swung her eyes to her boots, which were slick with water. He could see the coloured lights of Rainbow Bridge reflecting on them. "Sailor Moon! Are you all right?"

"Sailor Moon!"

Before either of them knew what was happening, Sailor Moon was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. Sailor Jupiter's chestnut curls tumbled over her shoulder as the tall girl buried her face in Sailor Moon's neck.

Sailor Mercury dived beside the pair, picking up the blonde's hand and squeezing it. Taking her other hand to find a pulse, she silently counted the beats as she drummed the time on her leg with the other. "She's fine, everyone!" she declared, turning to the remaining two Scouts. "Her heartbeat's up, but she's fine!"

Her dark blue eyes turned to Tuxedo Mask with gratitude. "Thank you, Tuxedo Mask. Thank you for saving her."

Tuxedo Mask nodded once, tersely, as Sailor Moon wiggled her way free from Sailor Jupiter's embrace. Her eyes were guarded, her expression wary. She blinked, but remained silent. The Scouts picked up on this immediately, swinging their eyes from their leader to the man sitting opposite her, like a tennis match.

Sailor Mars desperately wanted to ask what was going on. The tension between the two was palpable – and she wasn't just picking that up from their psyches. Were they back to normal, or just happy to be alive – and still reversed?

Sailor Moon dropped her eyes to the ground as Tuxedo Mask turned to survey the water. The four Scouts exchanged various looks.

"Please everyone," Sailor Moon suddenly said, in a voice not more than a whisper. "Take me home."

When Sailor Venus opened her mouth to argue, Sailor Mars elbowed her and gestured to their leader's expression. Confusion and shock was written across Sailor Moon's face.

Sailor Jupiter got to her feet silently and offered her hand to her friend. When Sailor Moon took it, she swung her around until she was nestled behind her, piggyback style. Silently, she took off, leaving the others to follow.

When just Sailor Mars remained, the Scout placed a kind hand on Tuxedo Mask's shoulder before bounding off after her friends. Tuxedo Mask lingered a little while longer before also taking off in the direction of his home.

* * *

Friday played out much like any regular Friday would for Serena. She got up, raced to school – just making it before the tardy bell – received a detention and failed a test. Ms Haruna assumed Serena was back to normal and wasn't as harsh as she could have been, but she was still disappointed that the girl who'd had so much potential, if only for a week, had 'gone backwards'.

Her friends promised to meet her at the arcade after her detention finished, and Serena had half-heartedly agreed. The trouble was, her mind had been so preoccupied all day, she was simply walking around as if she were still in some dream.

Amy, Lita, Mina and Raye met that afternoon in their regular booth to discuss the newest development in their friend's drama. All waited expectantly for Amy to speak first. She had one theory.

"The shock," she began, as she leaned into the table to lower her voice. "My only theory is that the shock of her brush with death must have jolted her limbic system back to her old 'settings'."

"But you said the brain couldn't be regenerated," Lita said with a frown, tapping her finger on the table. "So how can that work?"

Amy thought about her answer carefully. "Perhaps an overload of such fear caused the brain to react violently. Or perhaps even her central nervous system reacted, the trauma being a little too much for it to handle in such a highly stressful situation. Sometimes your brain and your body will react in two completely opposite ways simultaneously, and that can cause you to... Oh, I don't know!" She threw her hands up in the air. "I'm not a brain surgeon, I'm a teenager, all right?"

"Sorry, Ames," Raye apologised, with the others murmuring agreements. "We know that, we're just a little stressed. We didn't know what was happening, and you're usually the one to explain things for us."

"Well," Amy sighed, "it looks like we got our wish. Serena and Darien are back to normal."

"Yeah, but not normal enough. Now they're avoiding each other and Serena's acting really weird. I think they haven't figured it out yet." Lita pursed her lips, a sad expression crossing her features. "We should explain what happened to them, guys. It's not fair for them to be walking around, feeling like they suddenly went crazy for a week."

Mina nodded. "I can tell Serena, if you like," she offered.

"And I can talk to Darien," Raye said. "He may not be in the right mood to talk right now, but it's better he's not left in the dark forever."

Amy glanced at the clock. "Serena should be here soon, so we'd better change the subject. We don't want to bring it up unnecessarily yet, she might not want to hear it from all of us here. The arcade isn't the most private of places..."

"Hey Andrew!" Mina called, leaning out of her seat and waving a hand around to catch their friend's attention. "Can we get some drinks over here?"

The blonde missed the sweatdrops and faceplants as she continued to wave her hand around.

"Like you were saying, Ames?," Lita groaned.

* * *

"So you're saying the Negaverse was controlling me?" Darien asked in disbelief. Raye closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I'm saying that one of their monsters was able to leave you with a lasting side- effect , and it was scrambling your brain signals."

Darien groaned and dragged his hands down his face. "Okay. Start from the beginning one more time. Last Friday night, during the battle..."

* * *

"Thanks for clearing that up for me, Mina," Serena gave a small smile to her friend as they stopped at her front door. She opened it and Mina stepped out. "And I'm sorry about... You know, what I said before. About you being a Negaverse spy."

Her friend laughed and waved off her apology. "No harm done," she smiled. "I'm just glad you're back to your old self! My Serena is back!"

"Yeah," Serena smiled, "I guess she is."

"Okay, well, see you bright and early tomorrow morning! And by that, I mean 11.30!"

Serena waved as Mina began skipping down the path, waiting until the blonde was out of sight before shutting the door and letting her smile drop. Sighing, she leant her head against the wooden panel of her door, squeezing her eyes shut to comprehend all that she'd just been told.

"You shouldn't fool your friends, you know," a voice sounded from beside her. Serena didn't bother looking at Luna.

"I'm not fooling them," she said. "I'm just... Well how can they expect me to just forget this ever happened? I stuffed up a whole lot of things while I was _under the influence_."

"Under the influence?" Luna mused. Serena could practically hear her eyebrows rise in amusement. "I like that definition. That's a good way of looking at it."

Serena's fist clenched momentarily on the door before she spun around and walked past the feline. As she climbed the stairs, she could hear Luna's lithe steps just behind her. By the time she reached her room, she stumbled to her bed and collapsed on it.

"Luna, when did everything become such a mess?" she moaned, staring up at her ceiling. Not even the glow in the dark bunny stickers she'd placed up there could distract her now. "I just don't understand!"

The soft pressure beside her alerted her to the cat's position. Curling up beside the blonde's hip, Luna spoke.

"I know that you're very confused about all this right now, Serena, and I understand. It's a very difficult situation that you are, or were, in. Of course it's acceptable that your emotions are all muddled up."

"But that's just the thing, Luna! Apparently my head is back, but I'm just not feeling it. And now with school, and my family, and Darien! Oh my god, Darien! He must be thinking... No, I have no idea what he must think of me now. And I don't want to! I've never been so humiliated in all my life!"

"He did go through the exact same thing you did, though," her companion pointed out.

Serena huffed and slammed her fists onto the mattress. "But that's different! It's... He's... I mean... It's not the same, Luna, okay? It's just... not!"

If Luna thought otherwise, she didn't say so. Together, they spent the next few minutes in silence; Serena reflecting on the past week and what Mina had told her, and Luna remembering the pattern.

Serena remembered hearing about Darien's lonely childhood, his parent's deaths, his hopes for the future, his dream of becoming a Doctor, his fears of what being Tuxedo Mask would mean for him. She remembered how he admitted to clamming up around people and promising to never let himself get close to another person ever again.

A confusing mirage, like a memory carousal on overdrive swirled around in Serena's mind, replaying images and scenes over and over and over and over again until she came to one conclusion.

"I'm missing something."

Luna raised her head. "What was that dear?"

"I feel like I'm missing something," Serena repeated, frowning at the ceiling. "There is now this feeling in my heart like I'm missing something. I feel... almost lonely." She turned her head to look down at her guardian in confusion. "But that can't be right. Am I still slightly affected or something?"

Her companion was silent for several beats. "I think it would be good for you to talk to Darien."

The blonde made a face. "What? Luna! I think it's best if we just avoid each other for a while. Let this whole thing blow over."

"It'll never fully blow over unless you talk about it," her guardian reasoned. "And I think you'll find that if you're feeling even half as lonely as Darien is right now, he could probably use someone to talk to too."

Serena closed her eyes, weighing up her options. On one hand, he could make fun of her for all the dumb things she had stupidly admitted to him in the duration of the week. But on the other hand, he could ignore her and be angry for letting slip of all the things _he_ had said during the week. For some reason, the thought that he could possibly not want to talk to her made the hole in her chest feel bigger.

She pursed her lips and opened her eyes. "I'm going for a walk," she concluded. "I'll decide whether I want to talk to him or not when I'm ready."


	8. In Loving Memory

**AN: **Sorry for the lateness, guys - my laptop has a worm/trojan that's making its way through anything and everything and I was only able to salvage a few files today. In a few weeks, you'll be able to read _A Sneaking Suspicion_, which I will start writing as soon as my laptop is back from the PC doctor.

Also, on impossibly sad news, a friend and classmate of mine died this morning, so I dedicate this chapter to him. Life won't be the same without you, buddy. Xoxo

* * *

Serena's feet did all the walking with no input from her brain. She just followed their lead, like a puppy on a leash, allowing herself to be taken to whatever destination they had in mind.

She'd spent a good hour drifting around the Juuban mall district, passing by her favourite shops with little interest, quickly rushing past the Crown before Andrew could see her, even dawdling past her school. But in the end, it was the park that her feet brought her to.

Of course.

She wandered through the shrubbery and flowers, hunched in on herself; she hadn't thought to bring a jacket when she'd left. She paused at a particular bench, which had a special engraving.

_Dolores Hans. October 08, 1993 – June 21, 2010. Placed in loving memory by her family._

She hurried along, fighting off the memories that came with that bench. She and Darien had spent all of Sunday afternoon sitting there, whiling the time away by chattering nonsense.

She also skipped the secluded grass area that they'd spent Monday afternoon in. Eventually, she ended up by the swings, which were moving slightly in the chilly wind, creaking.

"God, we really did get around," she muttered to herself, laughing bitterly at the statement. She exhaled and looked away, eyes travelling up the path. Before she knew it, she was heading past the swings and towards the ponds, the gravel of the path crunching beneath her school shoes.

As she rounded the oak tree and sighted the bridge, she stopped in her tracks. Because there, leaning over the rail, was Darien.

He didn't notice her, and she had a brief battle inside her head about what to do next. Shoulders sagging, she realised it would be best to talk to him. And she did sort of miss that... In a way.

Walking soundlessly over the arch of the bridge and silently copying his pose beside him, she spoke to the water, which was rippling slightly in the wind.

"Hey," she whispered, eyes now trailing the patterns in the wood on the rail.

"Hey," he said just as quietly, not even looking surprised at the presence of another, let alone who it was."How are you?" he asked, and she knew immediately he wasn't referring to her general health and wellbeing.

"I'm all right. Still a bit shocked, you know, but..." She trailed off, brows furrowing. "And you?"

There was a slight quirk on Darien's lip, before it disappeared. "I'm all right," he echoed quietly.

Neither knew what to say next, so they stayed in silence for several minutes, just staring into the water, peering into their reflections, watching, waiting...

"I suppose it was nice," Serena suddenly whispered. "Not fighting with you for a while. Past the Jerk facade, you're actually kinda nice."

"And behind the crybaby exterior, who would've thought was actually a thoughtful and insightful young woman?"

Serena smiled at her reflection at the familiar jab.

"But you're right," he continued. "It was nice. You're not half bad, Meatball Head."

Serena's smile turned into a grimace at the mention of her dreaded nickname. "Thanks, Jerkwad," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "From Prince Charming, back to the frog, I suppose."

"Well, we do complement each other," Darien snorted. Serena mimicked the gesture.

"In a weird way, I guess we do." She turned slowly towards him. "Darien?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you... disappointed now? Knowing who Sailor Moon is, now that you're able to express the right emotions? Do you feel sad knowing it was me the whole time?"

Darien tilted his head over his shoulder, looking at her lopsidedly and giving her a small, crooked grin. "Ah, now Meatball Head, why would you say that? Of course I'm not disappointed. A little relieved, I suppose. But I meant it when I said I was glad it was you. I wasn't lying."

Serena searched his eyes thoroughly. What did he mean, 'relieved'? "But... I'm still me. You don't feel a little cheated? Like your idol was really your enemy all along?"

Darien's grin dropped. "Do you?"

"No! I'm just... I… I just think..."

"Meatball Head," the man sighed, returning his gaze to the setting sun, now dipping below the horizon. The colours reflected off the pond. "Don't think, okay? We both know it'll get you nowhere." Serena couldn't get mad when the familiar teasing tone entered his voice. "What would you have done if you'd found out my identity the hard way, hmm? Had a little tantrum, insult me a few times and then get over it?"

The blonde opened her mouth indignantly before snapping it shut again, realising he was right.

"Ah," he smiled, eyes twinkling. "See, I know you. Now I, on the other hand, don't know how I would have reacted to finding out you were Sailor Moon, and I guess I'll never know, since my emotions were all muddled up. But I suppose I'd rather it be you, out of anyone I know. You're compassionate and intelligent – when you want to be – and you make a good leader."

"Hey, we're getting along!"

"Maybe it's not as hard as we made it out to be."

"Maybe it's not," Serena agreed, bopping her head and giving Darien an honest smile. "I guess jumping down your throat everyday wasn't the best way to start our relationship... Sorry about that."

"Well, it's not every day a guy gets a test paper thrown at his head." He chuckled at the glare sent his way.

Serena didn't understand why she'd ever thought it would be so hard to get along with Darien. It seemed easy enough now. "Hey Darien," she suddenly heard herself say. "Do you want to meet up for a milkshake afterschool tomorrow or something?" The second the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted them. They'd only just gotten over the awkward-factor and already she'd blown it!

"Sure," the dark-haired youth said, sounding surprised himself. "You know, this might sound a little sad, or crazy, or even both, but I think I've missed you, Meatball Head."

"Yeah, when we weren't making out, we got into some really deep stuff together, didn't we?" Serena's eyes bulged and she clenched her fists, silently promising to kill herself later; why couldn't she shut up?

But Darien tactfully chose to ignore the comment, saving them both from further embarrassment. "So, tomorrow?" he asked. She nodded quickly and stood up stretching, blinking as she realised for the first time just how late it was getting. The sun had just disappeared from the horizon and it was probably already dinner time.

"Oh shoot!" she whispered to no one in particular. "Mum's going to kill me!" She spun to Darien, who was still leaning over the rails, watching her with amused eyes. "Not a word, buddy!" she threatened, pointing a finger at him. No need to mock her when she was already dreading her doom.

He schooled his expression into a more innocent one and looked around. "Who, me?" he laughed as she frowned thunderously at him. "Oh, just get going." He waved her away. "I don't want you out this late, anyway."

"Excuse me, do you remember who I am?"

"It's better to be safe than sorry, Meatballs, now hurry along. I'll see you tomorrow. Shall we say, 4.30 at the counter? No, I'll pick you up at school, it's on my way anyway."

Serena half turned back to him, as she'd already begun to leave. "You expect me to get a detention?"

Darien tilted his head as he drummed his fingers on the wooden railing. "I did say I know you, didn't I?"

* * *

Raye leaned closer to the blonde, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head. "Serena and Darien are _what?_"

Mina nodded enthusiastically, nearly bursting with excitement herself. "I know! Who would have thought! You just watch, they'll be a couple again in no time!"

"Yeah," Lita grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and drumming her nails on her forearms. "A real couple I hope. None of this making out until teatime and then running off from their friends when they feel like it."

Mina clapped a happy hand her friend's shoulder. "Oh Leets, you should have seen how Serena was talking about him! She was smiling. Smiling! About Darien Shields! I never thought I'd see the day!"

"You also said you never thought you'd see the day when Serena stood up to Luna, and she did that just last week."

Mina batted the comment away with an unconcerned hand. "Bah, she wasn't thinking straight! She had Negaverse-brain, that doesn't count. Besides, don't you think they make the cutest couple?"

"Shh! Shh! Here they come!"

In a synchronised movement, having been practiced over the last few months since becoming Sailor Scouts, the group of girls sprang apart, diving for their drinks and looking lazily around the room in several different directions.

Serena gave an indignant shriek as the automatic doors opened, with Darien laughing mockingly beside her.

"It was funny!" he laughed. "You manage a faceplant even on a flat surface! That's skill right there, Meatball Head! You should be proud!"

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!"

"You didn't mind last week!"

"I THOUGHT WE AGREED NOT TO BRING THAT UP AGAIN!"

"You agreed maybe, I didn't."

"Darien Shields, you're stressing me out! Andrew, he's being unreasonable!"

Amy snorted into her iced tea as the familiar taunts and shrieks echoed around the arcade. She hadn't realised she'd missed their childish behaviour. When she looked up, Mina, Lita and Raye were staring at her with identical expressions of amusement. She blushed and lowered her gaze, ears burning as the yelling was brought back in full force.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU CAN JUST – Oh! Hey guys! Sorry, didn't see you there!"

The girls looked up as Serena's voice lowered to a more decent level. She stood up on tiptoes and pecked Darien lightly on the cheek. "Vanilla milkshake, got it?"

She spun around, nearly whipping him in the face with her hair, and skipped towards the stunned booth.

"I take it you and Darien are going out again?" Raye asked after an awkward silence. Serena nodded brightly.

"Uhuh! I didn't get a detention today, so we just walked around Juuban for an hour and got talking. You know, we're really not that different from each other!" She shook her head, smiling goofily. "We talked about us, and what we were going to do about... things... And we just decided our relationship was too good an opportunity to pass up!"

Lita raised her eyebrows. "Your relationship was too good an opportunity to pass up?" she repeated. "Girl, that is not how you go about dating!"

"Oh, don't worry! We're compatible, we know it. Besides, don't you realise what this means? Tuxedo Mask is always around! We can include him in our Scout meetings, now that we're all on the same page, and work together!"

"Well we're having one later," Raye said, gesturing to the table. "Amy reckons she's picked up something new in the city. Something dangerous – which is definitely going to be Negaverse related."

Serena leaned down to whisper. "Once our date's over, we'll come join you guys, all right?" She pointed to the booth in the corner with the dim lighting. "We'll be over there, okay?"

"Wait... You're really going out?"

Serena gave Mina a look as if she was crazy. "Hello, didn't you just hear anything I said? But don't worry guys, this time we're taking it slow. Unlike last week..."

"Hey Meatball Head! I've got a frothing cup of sugar here just waiting for you to inhale!"

Serena winked at the girls before spinning around, growling. "OOOH! JUST YOU WAIT DARIEN! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!"

Darien's responding chuckle stopped short as the blonde stomped up to him. "Oh, come here," he smiled, grabbing the girl around the waist and pulling her towards him. Amy, never one for public displays of affection, glanced at Mina with wide eyes as the pair began kissing openly. She leaned down to whisper dramatically, "I thought she said they were going to take it slow!"

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed this little fic. You'll hear from me soon (and I hope I hear from you too), and just remember: live every day as if it is your last. Because one day, it will be._

_Xoxoxoxoxoxo  
_


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